General News
8 December, 2022
Moro to lead Growcom
Local mango grower Joe Moro has be-come the first Far North Queensland farmer in 100 years to lead Queensland’s peak horticulture body, Growcom.
Mr Moro held the position of deputy chair at Growcom for the past four years and with the previous chair stepping down at last week’s annual general meeting, his colleagues felt he was the right man for the job.
Mr Moro said he was honoured to be the first chair of Growcom in recent history from outside the south-east corner.
“It’s a great honour to be elected chair and lead the industry at a state level into the future,” he said.
Mr Moro is also the chair of the Queensland Horticultural Council, a forum for deliberating and determining horticulture policies across the state and the president of FNQ Growers.
During his time with Growcom, Mr Moro also gained a position as a board director on the Queensland Farmers Federation.
Advocacy has always been a big part of his repertoire and now as chair, this will remain a major focus.
“Growcom represents Queensland growers on a state and national level,” Mr Moro said.
“The horticulture industry has been a backbone of the economy for a long time but it also faces a lot of challenges, from labour to cost increases across the board and some growers are even facing severe flooding.
“I see this as an opportunity to try and help my fellow growers across Queensland and the industry to get better outcomes.
“I am looking forward to taking on this new challenge.”
For the past few years Growcom has been focusing on their long-term viability and now Mr Moro is looking to “reposition” the company to refocus on being the state’s leading advocacy body for the industry.
“I think we have reached a really good point in our viability – the company is in a good position financially,” he said.
“Now we can go back to doing what we should be doing, advocating for our growers.”
Growcom’s focus will be on addressing labour shortages across the state and the rising cost of production over the next 12 months.
